History

The only child of Ishida Ryuuken, and only grandchild of the late Ishida Souken, young Uryuu is the last in a line of warriors called the Quincy, a once great clan of spiritually aware humans who were nearly exterminated by the Shinigami 200 years ago due to a difference in their methods of operations. For instance, when a Shinigami defeats a Hollow, the soul is cleansed of all sins committed as a hollow and is sent on to Soul Society (or Hell, if the person's actions while alive called for it). A Quincy, on the other hand, does not do this; they simply destroy, which in turn, upsets the balance of souls flowing between the Human World and Soul Society. The Shinigami had tried to negotiate with the Quincy to get them to stop from battling and killing Hollows, negotiations had broken down and the order was given to exterminate the Quincy.

However, some managed to survive, leading to the Ishida family in modern times. While Souken was recognized officially as the last living Quincy, both his son and grandson are able to use the abilities as well. Ryuuken, however, has seemingly turned his back on his heritage, instead concentrating on his work as a doctor, telling his son that he would rather "concentrate on the living and not the dead." He also forbade his son from learning the Quincy arts, an order that was disobeyed as Uryuu met with his grandfather in secret so that he could learn to utilize the powers he had been born with, because he found himself not being to stand idly by while he could see and hear the Hollows and the souls of those they planned on making their victims.

Souken didn't hold this against his son, however, even as he proceeded in training Uryuu, only telling the boy that he would understand his father's reasoning soon enough. But Uryuu finds that he can't, because his sense of justice and his pride cannot wrap around the idea that one does nothing with the power that they are given, especially if that power will allow you to help another.

And so, Uryuu learns how to use his abilities in secret, while his grandfather shares stories of their clan's history and how he has been trying to work out a proposal so that instead of being enemies, the Shinigami and Quincy should instead, work together in their common goal, to protect those who cannot protect themselves from the Hollows, by using the Quincy as a type of advance force who can keep the Hollows at bay until the Shinigami could arrive and purify the soul.

It was this belief that guided Souken, and that he, in turn, tried to pass onto Uryuu. And Uryuu believed in his grandfather's words, right up until that fateful day. The day that Ishida Souken died, killed by Hollows who had slain him as he attempted to hold them off until help arrived from Soul Society, help that arrived three hours too late.

At the end of the day, young Uryuu no longer believed that the Shinigami were able to do their jobs. Because of this, Ishida vowed to himself that he would show the Shinigami how much they needed the Quincy, and went about training himself further in the arts. This, of course, grew into a point of contention between himself and his father, leading to Uryuu moving out of his father's home and into a flat of his own, in the Kitakawase section of Karakura.

Everything goes well for a while, until high school. As a student at Karakura 1st Public School, Uryuu finds himself in the same class as Kurosaki Ichigo, Karakura's resident ghost magnet and reiatsu spilling machine. Normally, this might not mean much, except for that fateful day in May when Ichigo meets Kuchiki Rukia, and receives her Shinigami powers. Now, Ichigo is a Shinigami, and someone that Uryuu finds himself directing his anger towards.

A few months pass, until Uryuu finally makes contact with Ichigo and Rukia during one of their Hollow hunting excursions, wherein he reveals himself as being spiritually aware and able to kill Hollows as well. In order to prove the Quincy's worth, Uryuu challenges Ichigo to a little game: by snapping Hollow Bait, Uryuu calls a swarm of Hollows to Karakura, so that he and Ichigo can see who can kill the most Hollows in a set time period. Of course, this, in turn, attracts the attention of a Menos Grande, a higher level of Hollow then what they normally deal with.

Using their abilities, the two join forces, fighting back to back to ward off the Hollows (sharing their individual life stories while doing so) and Ichigo is able to repel the Menos, but this cases his spiritual energy to go haywire, and Uryuu, knowing that this whole situation was his fault due to his stubborn pride, steps in to try and bring it under control by absorbing it and releasing it as arrows into the sky. This works, but it causes Uryuu's arms and hands to be covered in cuts and blood, showing up for school the next day in bandages, with the excuse that he fell down the stairs, and Uryuu and Ichigo begin an uneasy rivalry/friendship.

The arrival of the Menos Grande, however, catches the attention of Soul Society, who send two Shinigami to the real world to retrieve Rukia. Uryuu, who claimed he just happened to be out shopping at the local 24-hour dress making store, Sunflower Seams, arrived and attempted to stop them, only to be defeated. After Ichigo's arrival and subsequent defeat, Rukia returned to Soul Society, and Urahara Kisuke arrived. He tells Urahara and his crew to watch over Ichigo (as Ichigo would be the only one capable of saving her) and leaves, going off to do his own thing. The encounter with the Shinigami who were sent to retrieve Rukia had caused him to realize he wasn't as powerful as he thought he was, and that he was going to have to train even more to become stronger.

To do this, he donned the Sanrei glove, and trained for a week to master it, before appearing at Urahara's shop with Inoue Orihime and Sado "Chad" Yasatora to accompany Ichigo to Soul Society to rescue Rukia. They arrive there safely (although, Uryuu was almost caught by the soul cleaner and had to be carried by Chad, which resulted in his cape being torn. No worries, however, as the cape was promptly replaced with a spare as soon as they landed in Soul Society). After an unsuccessful attempt to break into the Seireitei, the group regroups with Yoruichi and heads to find Shiba Kukaku, who gives them an alternate way in, by using her fireworks cannon and allowing the group, plus Kukaku's younger brother, Ganju, to break through the protective barrier surrounding the Seireitei.

It works, although the group is separated and Uryuu finds himself wandering the streets of Seireitei with Orihime. He vows to protect her and does so, taking down a seated officer before Orihime has the bright idea of knocking out some Shinigami and "borrowing" their uniforms so that they can blend in better. This works for a time, until they encounter Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Nemu (the Captain and Vice-Captain of the 12th Division). Mayuri takes a special interest in Orihime, who Uryuu hands off to a member of the 11th Division to carry out of harm's way, and battles the Captain himself so that the Shinigami has time to take her away.

During the course of their battle for which, at the beginning, Uryuu finds himself outmatched by the Captain, Uryuu finds out the lengths to which Mayuri will go, such as using his own vice captain to disable him. Mayuri's treatment of Nemu, plus Mayuri's own admission of experimentation on Quincy Souls, especially that of his last one, one Ishida Souken, spurs Uryuu to use ransotengai, which then allows him to remove the Sanrei Glove and trigger the Quincy Letz Stile to battle. While this form proves more powerful then Mayuri and his Bankai, Uryuu is ultimately unable to defeat him, as he is poisoned and Mayuri has escaped by turning into a pile of goo. Nemu gives him the antidote as a thank you for not killing Mayuri and Uryuu wanders away, realizing that he's lost his Quincy powers, before running into and being knocked unconscious by Tousen Kaname.

He awakens, healed, in a cell in the 4th Division with both Chad and Ganju, where he sits until they are freed by Zaraki Kenpachi, the Captain of the 11th Squad and reunited with Orihime, before heading to the execution grounds, wherein they await of the conclusion of Ichigo's battle with Kuchiki Byakuya. Following this, they witness Aizen Sosuke's betrayal of Soul Society and departure to Hueco Mundo. After a few days taken to rest and recover, they return to the Real World.

After their return to Karakura, all is quiet for a short time, before Urahara decides to put the group through their paces to see how well they work together. In critiquing their performance, Urahara is the one that lets slip that Uryuu had lost his powers in Soul Society, something that Uryuu had not told the others due to his feelings of being useless without his abilities, and explains to the group gathered why he conducted these tests: in order to see how well prepared the group is for the next enemy: the Bount, a group of people, not exactly humans, who feast on the souls of humans to survive. Although the Bount normally feasts on those dearly departed, it seems as if they are now feeding on the souls of those still living.

With the added bonus of the three new Bount detectors, created by Urahara, the group is informed that Urahara believes that they will be seeking out those with spiritual energy, which, of course, leaves Ishida off the list, as he no longer has his Quincy abilities, and is, in turn, useless. Or it seems that way, at any rate. This turns out to be one of those rare times when Urahara is wrong, because the Bount are pursuing the Quincy for their needs. This starts a few episodes of "Who's Got the Quincy?!," which concludes with the death of Soma Yoshino, a female Bount that Uryuu found reminded him of his mother and that he had grown close to, and Kariya Jin's plan to send little things called Bitto, to drain the souls of humans and condense it into a liquid for the Bounts to drink.

Following Yoshino's death, Uryuu mopes for a little while, before coming to a decision and going out into the forest in an attempt to regain his powers and prove himself that he wasn't just a burden to the others while the others choose to go after the Bount, but fails, only to be met once again by Nemu, who hands him the Quincy Bangle, an unstable Quincy artifact that will allow him to use his powers again. Joining up with the others, Uryuu uses his Quincy abilities to allow Kariya and the Bounts into Soul Society, believing that they will be easier to defeat there. Of course, this is not true, but it does not keep the group from following the Bounts to Soul Society, where many battles take place as the Bounts invade Soul Society. Kariya puts into motion his plans to invade the Seireitei and destroy it, using crests that been sealed all over various parts of the Seireitei. During this, Uryuu and Ichigo run into Ran'tao, the shinigami responsible for the Bounts' creation and one who has been exiled from Seireitei.

After Kariya and his fellow Bounts break into the Seireitei, Uryuu and the others follow, and what results is a series of battles where the Bounts are taken out by various Captains in Soul Society, except for one, Yoshi, who is taken out by Uryuu and his unstable abilities. During this battle, he is injured and after he recovers from being healed by Orihime (after he protests, wishing for Orihime to heal it enough so that he can fight since the whole mess is his fault and the others telling him to STFU and get healed all the way), he waits until the others are sleeping and sneaks out, seeking out Ran'tao, who has managed to get into the Seireitei and is going after Kariya.

While Ran'tao manages to injure Kariya, this in turn makes her reiatsu go out of control. Uryuu, with the choice of either saving Ran'tao or taking out Kariya, opts to save Ran'tao, thereby causing the Quincy Bangle to reach its limit and disintegrate while Ichigo arrives to take on Kariya. Uryuu takes Ran'tao to safety, meeting up with Orihime and Chad, and then heads to the execution grounds, where they meet up with Renji and Rukia and await the outcome of the final battle between Ichigo and Kariya. Following Ichigo's win, the group returns home.

Shortly after their return, Uryuu is attacked by two incomplete Arrancar and while he attempts to use the Ginto to defeat them, is ultimately unsuccessful; it's only due to the timely arrival of Ryuuken that he is not killed. Disappointed by his son, Ryuuken offers him a deal: the restoration of his powers, on the condition that he no longer associate with the Shinigami. After several days of thinking it over, Uryuu agrees, and begins training in his father's secret underground training area, while the Arrancar continue to attack the town. While, at first, Uryuu doubts his father's methods of restoring his powers (basically, run while I shoot at you. Oh, and don't get killed), it proves ultimately successful, as the only way to restore them is to be first mentally and physically exhausted, then shot with a spirit arrow 19 mm to the right of the heart.

Following the restoration of his powers, Uryuu is visited by Urahara, who informs him that Orihime has been taken by the Arrancar. Upon discovering that Soul Society has abandoned Ichigo on his quest to rescue her, Uryuu agrees to accompany both Ichigo and Chad to Hueco Mundo to rescue her. As far as he's concerned, since Soul Society has abandoned Orihime, Ichigo is technically not acting as a Shinigami and thus, Ishida is not working with them, giving him a loophole in his promise to Ryuuken.

After Uryuu and Chad fight with Ichigo over whether they can go or not, the three go to Hueco Mundo, only to run into several guards not that long after their arrival. After proving to Ichigo that they can, in fact, protect themselves and can kick some butt, the three head towards Los Noches, Aizen's lair. On their way, they run into a young arrancar named Nel and her buddies, the Desert Brothers and Rukia and Renji, who arrived in Hueco Mundo with help from Byakuya, to help Ichigo and his friends.

Soon after breaking into Hueco Mundo, the group splits up, each going their separate ways (and some accompanied by either Nel or a Desert Brother. Uryuu got lucky and got Pesche) and it doesn't take long before he runs into Arrancar number 105, Cirucci Sanderwicci, who he manages to defeat, but not without taking a couple of hits and some unwanted help from Pesche. Upon her defeat, Uryuu, instead of killing her, severs her ability to use her powers and leaves.

Not long after, he and Pesche stumble upon Renji, who is currently battling one Szayel Aporro Grantz, the Eighth Espada. The two team up to defeat him, Uryuu even pulling out his FINAL MOVE (aka, Sprenger), which doesn't work, and Szayel declares that he will come back after he changes his clothes. After taking a moment to figure out if he was kidding or not, Renji and Uryuu attempt to book it out of there, only to be caught by Szayel again (and no, he wasn't kidding), who thoroughly proceeds to kick their butts when he releases his sword and turns into the tentacle monster from hell that sucks you in and then spits you out, all the while creating a little voodoo of you that Szayel will then use to screw with your insides. Uryuu better not have needed that stomach.

Of course, they are saved by the timely arrival of one 12th Division Captain and his second in charge, who then proceed to wipe the floor with Szayel. Afterwards, Mayuri heals both Uryuu and Renji (with much protest on Uryuu's end, to the point that he was knocked out by being crushed by Nemu's boobs), before Uryuu journeys to the tower where Ichigo is fighting Ulquiorra. After dispatching Yammy so that Ichigo can keep fighting and promising Ichigo that he will watch over Orihime while he fights, Ichigo goes after Ulquiorra above the Los Noches dome. Uryuu is then convinced by Orihime to take her to the top of the tower so that they can see the battle.

They arrive just in time to see Ichigo get blasted through the chest by Ulquiorra, and Uryuu jumps into the fray while Orihime runs to help Ichigo. Ulquiorra gravely injuries Uryuu's dominate hand, rendering it useless. Orihime is alarmed, but Uryuu reaffirms to her that everything is okay and that she needs to look after Ichigo as he throws himself right back at Ulquiorra.

Orihime finally has a mental breakdown as she begs Ichigo to save them. This triggers Ichigo's inner Hollow to go berserk and causing Ichigo to turn into a full out Hollow, one with immense power, who then thoroughly beats the ever loving crap out of Ulquiorra. Uryuu attempts to stop this by grabbing the Hollow's arm, proclaiming that Ichigo will lose his humanity if he kills Ulquiorra. In return, he gets Zangetsu through the abdomen for it. Then the Ichi-thing turns to blast Uryuu with a cero, but Ulquiorra stops him, and this, in turn, causes Ichigo to come back to his senses. After Ichigo has a moment of OH MY GOD, WHAT DID I DO?!, Ulquiorra fades away and Orihime and Ishida tell Ichigo to go help the others, while Orihime takes care of Uryuu's injuries.

Personality

For the most part, Uryuu is known as a standoffish child who keeps to himself. However, he does have a tendency to try and act cool while around others (usually Ichigo and the others), and has been noted as being characterized by dramatic speech. He also calls his father by his first name, which is considered very rude in Japanese society.

He tends to operate by a code called the "Pride of the Quincy," and will go to great lengths to protect his nakama, even if it's only because he just happened to be in the area, really. Or that their interest just happens to be the same as his. And while his relationship with Ichigo borders on rivalry, he gets along fine with both Chad and Orihime, and, despite once proclaiming, rather loudly at times, hatred of their very existence, he seems to harbor no ill will towards most Shinigami, especially Rukia and Renji, who seem to be included in their circle of nakama. The only one that he really seems to have issues with is Mayuri, but considering what Mayuri did to his grandfather and his soul, it is understandable.

He's also very chivalrous when it comes to the ladies, and will go after men who mistreat or abuse them, such as Renji and Byakuya when they come after Rukia and again Mayuri, when he uses Nemu to get at Uryuu during their battle, and seems to care very little for her, even treating her as less of a person. There are times when one could make the argument that he tends to be a white knight; literally, as he does try to protect those he's close to. He did so for Orihime in Soul Society and again Yoshino, when he gave himself up to Kariya to protect her and to stop her from getting injured protecting him. It is important to note that he wasn't above putting himself out there to protect Pesche, one of the Hollows that had joined up with the Orihime Rescue Team, and again, Renji, when they were fighting the Eighth Espada, even going so far as to come out and say that he trusts Renji.

Also, while fighting, he tries to avoid using lethal force (if his opponent is something or someone other then your standard, run-of-the-mill Hollow), unless he absolutely has to. If he can find a way to win without killing someone, he will do it, such as cutting their soul chain and soul sleep, as he did to the one Shinigami who attempted to harm Orihime or again, against the arrancar, Cirucci Sanderwicci.

He's also rather proud of his sewing abilities, which had landed him with the moniker the "Four-Eyed Sewing Machine," and as president of Karakura 1st High School's Handicrafts Club and hates buttons and preferring fasteners. He's mostly known around school for fixing various plushies (including Kon) and he's designed and created all his Quincy attire as well. Of course, to this end, he hates buttons and prefers to use fasteners in his designs.

He also hates procrastination (which may be a factor in his school ranking of #1 among the first year students) and his favorite food is homemade mackerel miso soup.

Uryuu is by no means perfect, as he's made his share of mistakes. He's very proud of who and what he is, even when he looses his abilities, although without them, he tends to feel useless, powerless and unable to help the others. Sometimes, this belief has lead to some rather dubious choices on his part, such as accepting and learning how to use the Quincy Bangle, which, if used wrong, can lead to a sizable explosion that would take the user and a sizable chunk of the area around him/her with it or allowing the Bounts to cross over into Soul Society, even though he believed that they would be easier to defeat there. Or when he first showed himself to Ichigo, challenging him to a match of Hollow-slaying and snapping the Hollow Bait to attract them, thus putting every person in Karakura at risk.

Of course, while there are times when his pride has gotten him into trouble, he's usually able to learn from his mistakes, such as accepting that not all Shinigami are wrong.

Abilities

As a member of the Quincy clan, Ishida has many powers, the biggest one being his ability to absorb reishi from his surroundings and use it to form a bow and arrows (known as reiyoku manipulation) using the Quincy cross he wears on his right wrist. At present time, his bow, called Ginrei Kōjaku, resembles a spider web and can fire 1,200 arrows in succession without stopping. It is also possible for him to curve the part of his arrows after firing them, although it is not known how long the arrow can be controlled and how many it will work on. Arrows can also be used to negate attacks as well. Also, as a spiritually aware human, Uryuu has the ability to see and interact with spirits, Hollows and Shinigami, and can sense reiatsu, which is the physical force a person's reiryoku creates when released.

Ishida is also one of the best at sensing a person's reiatsu, the pressure one reiryku (the amount of energy a person has) exerts. He knew of Ichigo's spiritual awareness before the other became a Shinigami and knew when the boy did. He also knew of Chad and Orihime's awakening spiritual abilities and after studying Kon's reiatsu for a short time, was able to detect that Cloud, Ririn and Nova were, in fact, mod souls in gigais. He can also visualize Reiryoku into threads called Reiraku, which those who are spiritually aware can follow.

Even though Quincies usually use bows and arrows to do battle, it doesn't mean that they don't have other tricks up their sleeves as well. There are several other weapons and techniques at their disposal as well.

- Seele Schneider - A thin, long metal bar, it resembles a sword most of all, wherein the blade is actually made of reishi, it can also be used in conjunction with a Quincy's bow as a arrow as well. The blade of the Seele Schneider acts almost as a chainsaw, there the blade vibrates at ultra-high frequencies, which, in turn, loosens the molecular bonds between spirit matter, so that any freed spirit particles can be absorbed by the Quincy in turn and used for combat.

- Ginto (Silver Tubes)
Little silver tube-shaped canisters that store spiritual energy, they are used by the Quincy to perform spells, which are activated by using various commands.
There are currently three spells that are known:
1. Haizen - which creates a transparent, rectangular beam of energy that can slices through the opponent. It is activated using the following command: "Feel the wrath of battle and accept this sacred chalice - Haizen!"
2. Gritz - This forms a man-sized pentacle symbol which envelops it's target. It is activated using the following command: "A silver rod strikes the five-fingered stone bed - Gritz!"
3. Wolke - Creates a large blast. Can also be used to cushion the impact of a fall. It is activated using the following command: "Tilt the Goblet to the West - Wolke!"

- The Ginto can also be used in conjunction with the Seele Schneider to perform Sprenger, where in the five Seele Schneiders are used to create a pentagram-shaped seal, which is then activated by pouring the contents of a Ginto on one of the Seele Schneiders. Also, if the object or person inside of the seal stands in the middle of the pentagram, the placement of the fifth Seele Schneider can cause trap them by binding their legs to the ground with spirit particles. The combination of the trigger energy from the Ginto and the energy that the Seele Schneiders absorb causes a massive explosion within its borders. However, due to the time it takes to set up this maneuver, it can prove ineffective, unless you have a partner who is able to stall the opponent and buy time.

Hirenkyaku - the Quincy equivalent to the Shinigami's flash steps, it is the method used to travel long distances in a short period of time. A version of this can be used to create platforms of spiritual particles under a person's feet and ride them to a desired location.

Used in Hueco Mundo

- Licht Regen - Uryuu gathers a large amount of spiritual particles at a point on his left shoulder and lets them fly in a volley of 1,000 arrows at a single target.

Only seen in Soul Society

Ransotengai - when a Quincy is either old or somehow becomes incapacitated and can longer fight or use parts of their bodies, they can form strings of spirit energy controlled by their brain, and control their body as one would a puppet, allowing them to move freely despite paralysis, injury or anything else that could impede normal movement. This technique is rare, so rare in fact, that the Captain of the 12th Division, who has studied 2,661 Quincies, has never encountered a Quincy who could use it before Uryuu.

Things that Ishida can't use again

Sanrei Glove - This artifact can be used to significantly enhance a Quincy's power. The glove requires a week of intense training to use, because it repels spirit particles, thus making harder for a Quincy to summon their bow. After a week of training, a Quincy who is able to successfully use their powers while wearing the glove can reach much higher levels of powers, as they are now more skilled at collecting reishi. However, once donned, removal of the glove should only be as a last resort, as it triggers the Quincy Letz Stile (Final Form). It also causes the user to lose their Quincy abilities.

The Quincy Letz Stile - A last resort, it is triggered by the removal of the Sanrei Glove. In it, the Quincy will be experience an abrupt increase in power (and usually a wardrobe change too, go figure). In this form, abilities are heightened, as the Quincy is gifted with extreme strength and speed, the arrows' powers are drastically increased, "dominance" over reishi (to the point that Uryuu was able to absorb spiritual structures, such as buildings, in Soul Society), vast spiritual power and a much faster version of the Hirenkyaku. This form was enough that Uryuu was able to take on a Shinigami Captain and live to talk about it later.

However, this skill isn't without its consequences. By using it, the wielder pushes their body beyond what it can handle, and the body will seal off all spiritual power, thus leaving a Quincy without the ability to use their powers. It is possible for a Quincy to regain their powers after using it, but it requires a second Quincy, and for the effected Quincy to first exhaust themselves both mentally and physically and then be shot with a spirit arrow exactly 19mm to the right of their heart. A pentacle shaped scar appears at the point of impact and the Quincy will once again be able to use his or her abilities.

Quincy Bangle - An artifact created to help a Quincy with weak spiritual power and is designed to mimic a Quincy's powers, by forcing reishi to gather and then amplifies the, allowing the user to use them in battle. However, this is not without its drawbacks, as there is a stress problem, by continuously drawing reishi, even if wielder does not will it. Of course, said artifact can only be used until it reaches it limit, and then it will disintegrate. If arrows are fired at maximum power, without the wielder learning how to control the energy output, there is also the strong possibility that the artifact will explode, taking the user and everything within a sizable radius, with it.

As a Quincy, his ability is only hampered by the amount of reishi he can absorb and his ability to absorb it.